Mounting means for demountable containers



June 28, 1966 J. E. GUTRIDGE MOUNTING MEANS FOR DEMOUNTABLE CONTAINERS 9Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 5, 1964 INVENTOR JACK E. GUTRIDGE ATT'Y June28, 1966 J. E. GUTRIDGE 3,257,970

MOUNTING MEANS FOR DEMOUNTABLE CONTAINERS Filed June 5, 1964 9Sheets-Sheet 2 JACK E. GUTRIDGE BY WA X INVENTOR June 28, 1966 J. E.GUTRIDGE 3,257,970

MOUNTING MEANS FOR DEMOUNTABLE CONTAINERS Filed June 5, 1964 9Sheets-Sheet 3 L I 2| 26 h. .25 2% INVENTOR JACK E. GUTRIDGE BY {fizz/4ATT'Y June 28, 1966 J. E. GUTRIDGE 3,257,970

INVENTOR JACK EQGUTR/DGEK A TT'Y J1me 1966 J. E. GUTRIDGE MOUNTING MEANSFOR DEMOUNTABLE CONTAINERS 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 5, 1964 INVENTORJACK E. GUTRIDGE My ATT'Y June 28, 1966 J. E. summer:

MOUNTING MEANS FOR DEMOUNTABLE CONTAINERS 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed June 5,1964 INVENTOR ACK E. GUTR 06E ATT'Y June 28, 1966 J. E. GUTRIDGEMOUNTING MEANS FOR DEMOUNTABLE CONTAINERS 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed June 5,1964 INVENTOR JACK E. GUTRIDGE ATT'Y J. E. GUTRIDGE MOUNTING MEANS FORDEMOUNTABLE CONTAINERS June 28, 1966 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 Filed June 5, 1964INVENTORI JACK E. GUTRIDGE June 28, 1966 J. E. GUTRIDGE MOUNTING MEANSFOR DEMOUNTABLE CONTAINERS 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 Filed June 5, 1964 INVENTOR%K E. GUTRIDGE ATT'Y United States Patent MOUNTING MEANS FOR DEMOUNTABLECONTAINERS Jack E. Gutridge, Dyer, Ind., assignor to PullmanIncorporated, Chicago, 11]., a corporation of Delaware Filed June 5,1964, Ser. No. 372,926 6 Claims. (Cl. 105--366) The present inventionrelates to railway flat cars for hauling demountable containers and moreparticularly to the mounting brackets for locating and locking thecontainers on the railway flat cars. I

Demountable containers of the type Which are used for universal carrierinterchange such as between railway cars, ships, semi-trailers andaircraft are currently constructed of standard length, width and heightdimensions so as to permit the universal interchange thereof. Thesecontainers are further provided with indexing and attachment structureswhich are rendered complementary to indexing and locating means employedon the particular freight vehicle on which the container is to becarried.

These complementary indexing and locating means on the container may beof basically different designs employing only such structure that isnecessary to adapt it for use with the standardized container attachmentstructure to perform the function required thereof,

Hauling of the demountable containers by way of rail transportation maybe performed on railway cars of the flat car type and having containermounting arrangements provided on the car for locating and locking thecontainer thereon. The flat cars may also be suitable for use in thepiggyback operation of transporting semitrailers, auto racks and thelike. When the flat car is used for all the aforementioned purposes, itis essential that the floor structure be made substantially free of anyupstanding obstruction. In the event that the fiat car is used forhauling trailers an obstruction in the path of movement of the wheelstends to slow down the loading and unloading operation of thesemiatrailers. It is obvious, of course, that an obstruction on thefloor would interfere with the attachment and positioning of an atuorack thereon.

Heretofore in order to avoid the obstruction of the floor of the car,the container mounting arrangements or means have generally beendesigned for location on or adjacent to the side sill. The mountingmeans have been generally constructed for pivotal movement inboard andoutboard of the side between an operative position on the car floor anda stored position on or beneth the side sill. These prior attachmentmeans have been extremely cumbersome and also required additionalstructure to fasten them in the stored position. Accordingly not onlywere the attachment means bulky and cumbersome but also expensive tomanufacture.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedcontainer mounting structure for railway cars which overcomes thedifficulties encountered heretofore.

It is a further object to provide a container mounting structure whichis of simple design and economical to manufacture,

It is still a further object to provide a container mounting structurewhich is foldable between an inoperative position flat on the deck ofthe car to an erect operative position in which position the containermounting structure incorporates a means for indexing and locating thecontainer lengthwise on the fiat car. I s

It is another object to provide a container mounting structure which isconstructed so as to be foldable to a stored position substantiallyflush with the floor of tudinally and laterally of the car.

It is another object of the invention to provide trailer mounting meansincluding a pair of plate members including index means provided on eachof the plate members in which the plate members are foldable from aninoperative stored position adjacent the floor of the car to an erectoperative position and wherein the index means on the respective platemembers coact so as to'cooperate with complementary locating meansprovided in the container.

It is yet another object of the invention to provide a containermounting means including a pair of plate members which are foldablerelatively to each other from an inoperative position flush with thefloor of the car to an operative erect position wherein the platemembers include means insertable into an indexing opening provided inthe bottom of the car and wherein said plate members include means forretaining the container latched to the mounting means. J

Further objects and features will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a railway flat car having the containermounting arrangement of the present invention incorporated thereon;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken generally along the lines 2-2 ofFIG. 1 and showing in particular the manner in which .the containers arecarried on the car on the container mounting arrangement of the presentinvention.

FIG. 3 is a view'similar to FIG. 2 but showing the trailer mountingarrangement in the stored inoperative position and with the Wheels of atractor or semi-trailer passing thereover;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the other corner of the containermounting arrangement showing the components thereof in the operativeposition and supporting a container as shown in phantom;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 4 but showing thecomponents of the container mounting arrangement in the collapsed storedposition on floor of the car;

FIG. 6 is a transverse elevational view of the container mountingarrangement taken generally along the lines 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal elevational .view of the container mountingarrangement taken generally along the lines 77 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the container mounting arrangement ofFIG. 5 showing the latter in the stored position and an arrangement forrecessing the components within the floor of the car;

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view of the recess arrange-. ment shown inFIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another form of container mountingarrangement which is adapted to be used for concurrently mounting theends of two adjacent containers thereon and showing the components ofthe container mounting arrangement in the erect operative positionthereof;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view similar to FIG. 10 but showing thecomponents thereof in the stored position adjacent the floor of therailway car; i

FIG. 12 is a transverse elevational view of the container mountingarrangement shown in FIGS. and 11 taken generally along the lines of1212, FIG. 10;

FIG. 13 is a longitudinal elevational view of the mounting structureshown in FIGS. 10 and 11 but taken generally along the lines 1313 ofFIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another embodiment of a containermounting arrangement wherein there is utilized an indexing meanscooperative with a standard opening in the base of the container; thecomponents of the container mounting arrangement being shown in theirinoperative stored position adjacent the floor of the car;

FIG. 15 is similar to FIG. 14 but taken along the op,- posite side ofthe car and showing the components of the container mounting arrangementin the erect operative container supporting position.

FIG. 16 is a lateral elevational view of the container mountingarrangement shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 taken generally along the line16--16 of FIG. 15; J-1(9) Ray Harmon 40180 Job Comp. June 4-66 FIG. 17is a longitudinal elevational view of the container mounting arrangementof FIG. 14 and FIG. 15 taken generally along the lines 1717 of FIG. 15;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of another embodiment of containermounting arrangement adapted to utilize the opening in the underside ofthe container and wherein two containers are disposed in close end toend relationship so that the container mounting arrangement concurrentlysupports the adjacent ends of the container;

FIG. 19 is similar to FIG. 18 but taken along the opposite side of thecar and showing the components of the container mounting arrangement inthe erect operative container supporting position.

Referring now to the FIGS, particularly FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown afiat open deck portion of a railway car 10 suitable for piggybackoperation and having embodied thereon the new and improved containermounting arrangement of the present invention.- The railway flat car 10comprises generally an underframe 11 including a center sill 12 fromwhich there project the usual bolsters 13 and crossbearers 14. Fixed tothe ends of the bolsters 13 and crossbearers 14 along each side of thecar are side sills 15. Fixed between the side sills 15 and the centersill 12 are the usual floor sheets 16, fixed at their inner end to thetop plate 17 of the center sill 13. The underframe 11 is suitablymounted on wheels or trucks 18.

Extending lengthwise of the floor 16 are a pair of transversely spacedchannels 19-19 which are arranged to carry the vertical weight of thecontainers C supported on the floor 16. The containers C are adapted tobe carried on the fioor 16 and may be of standardized dimensions inrespect to the length, width and height thereof. These standards mayconform to those accepted by the American Standards Association topermit a full interchange of the containers among the various forms oftransportation such as rail, ship, aircraft, truck and the like. Thecontainers may be provided also with various standard types of fittingsand openings for accommodating locking and indexing means provided onthe different types of transportation by which the container is to betransported. The fittings and openings are standardized in size andlocation to facilitate the design of equipment employed on thetransportation media.

As shown, the containers C on the railway vehicle 10 in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3are supported on the channels 1919 and there is fastened to the floor 16a plurality of container support brackets 20 and 21. The supportbrackets 20 are adapted to locate the larger size containers on therailway car while the support brackets 21 are adapted to hold theadjacent ends of two of the smaller containers in position on therailway car 10 as more fully to be explained hereinafter.

As shown, the container or support brackets 20 and 21 are eachconstructed to be collapsible to a position substantially flush with thefloor 16. This permits the tractor and semi-trailers which are alsoadapted for use on the fiat car to be easily and rapidly transportedover the floor and thereby facilitate the unloading and loading of thesemi-trailer from the railway car 10. As shown, in particular in FIG. 3,the container brackets in the foldable position project only slightlyabove the level of the floor 16 and are located so as to generallyunderlie the outer of the dual wheels of the tractor and semi-trailer.This permits the semi-trailer and tractor to be rapidly driven over thetop of the floor 16 because the fiat bracket structure is not such anobstruction which would cause the semi-trailer or tractor to bounce orjostle out of control when being driven across the floor 16 at amoderate rate of speed.

As shown, in particular in FIGS. 4 through 7, the corner containersupport brackets 20 are each of substantially identical structure suchthat only one of the brackets 20 need be described. The bracket 20comprises essentially a foldable member 22 extending transversely of thecar and a folding member 23 extending lengthwise of the car parallelwith the side sill 15. The longitudinal foldable member 23 is turnableor pivotally mounted about pivot pins 25 mounted on trunnions 24 whichmay be fixed to the floor 16 as by welding or the like.

The transverse foldable member 22 is mounted for pivotal movementtransversely to the car between the folded position shown in FIG. 5 tothe erect position shown in FIG. 4 by means of pivot pin 26 supported ona base trunnion 27, fixed on the deck 17 inwardly on the side sill and atrunnion bracket 28 which may be fixed to the vertical web of the sidesill 15. As shown, the longitudinal foldable member or beam 23 is cutaway along its underside so as to provide a clearance for trunnion 27when the beam 23 is rocked about its pivot pins 25 to the erectposition.

Extending from the inner face of the beam or transverse foldable member22 is a rectilinear projection 29 which is adapted to be received in acomplementary located opening =30 provided in the longitudinal beam 23.When the projection 29 is seated within the opening 30, 'the members areheld substantially erect and rigid in the vertical attitude shown.

To maintain the beam members 22 and 23 locked in the vertical attitudeor erect operable position shown in FIG. 4, there is provided a latchmember 31 pivotal about a pin 32 for movement in a vertical planetransverse to the longituduinal axis of the car ll). The latch member 31includes a shank 34 of substantially rectangular section which isseatable in a notch 33 so that the upper side '37 lies substantiallyflush or coplanar with a planar horizontal support surface 35 formed onthe beam 23. The latch member 31 is formed with a lip 36 which overliesthe inner face of the longitudinal beam 23 and retains the latter inengagement with the inboard end of the transverse beam 22. In thismanner there are formed two right-angularly disposed surfaces 35 and thesurface 37 which engage the bottom of the container C as shown inparticular in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. Providing a stop or index surfaceagainst the side and end of the container C are upright surfaces 38 and39 formed re spectively on the brackets 23 and 22. The upright surfaces38 and 39 are formed to engage the container C rear and side surfaces inclose proximity to a corner thereof. Thus, as shown in FIG. 1 four setsof container support brackets 20' located at each of the corners of thecontainer C are operative to restrain the latter against lengthwise andtransverse movement of the car 10.

The vertical surfaces 38 abutting one end of the container. C areoperative to resist movement of the force applied at the other end tothe container. Similarly the transverse forces applied along one side ofthe trailer are opposed or resisted by the vertical surfaces 39contacting the container on the other side thereof.

As shown, each of the transverse and longitudinal foldable members areformed with inwardly inclined surfaces 40 and 41 which merge with thevertical surfaces 38 and 39 respectivelyf The inclined surfaces 40 and41 serve to guide the container into position on the planar surfaces 37and 35 provided by the bearing blocks 22 and 23.

For holding the container C on the channels '19 and the support brackets20, there is slidably supported within a horizontal groove 44 formed inthe bracket or foldable member 22, a latching bar 45. The latch bar 45is formed with a more or less triangular nose portion 46 which isengageable within an opening 47 located in a fixed position on thecontainer C. The diagonal 48 serves as a camming surface to positivelylock the container to the beam members 22 and 23 planar surfaces.

Connected to the outer end of the latch 45 is an actuating handle 50which is pivotal about a pivot pin 49 fixed to a projection 49aextending from the outboard upper end of the transverse beam 22.Connecting the handle 50 to the latch bar 45 is a pin 51 which isslidable in an elongate vertical slot 52 of the bar 45. Normally thehandle 50 is biased to a closed position in which position thetriangular nose 46 extends outwardly of the vertical stop surface 39 asshown in full lines in FIG. 4. The

handle 50 is biased into this position by means of a leaf spring 53which is fixed at one end by means of a strap 54 to the top of the beam22 and of which the free end is engageable with the top horizontalsurface 55 of the handle 50 to apply a resilient force tending to movethe handle 50 counterclockwise. To retract the latch, the handle 50 ismoved clockwise as viewed in FIGS. 4 and 6 against the force of thebiasing spring 53 until the triangular nose 46 is retracted free of theside of the container C and outwardly of the opening 47. t

The handle 50 may be retained in the open position shown in FIG. 6 bymeans of a strut 56 which is pivotally secured intermediate the ends ofthe handle '50 by means of a pin 57. Normally, the strut 55 lies withina.slot provided in the handle and is movable about the pivot pin 57 tothe position shown in phantom lines in FIG. 6 so that the free endthereof is engageable with a notch 53 formed on the outboard side of thebracket 22. It is to be noted when the handle 50 is thus propped itprojects outwardly of the side sill 1'5 and serves as a visual indicatorshowing the latch 45 is in the open position. When the strut 57 isdisengaged from the notch 58 the leaf spring 53 acting on top of thehandle 50 is operative to urge the latter counterclockwise about thepivot pin 48 so that the latch member 45 assumes the locked positioninwardly of the side sills 15.

In operation of the car 10, the four container support brackets 20 forsupporting the container C may be in the collapsed or folded positionshown in FIG. 5. To support a container a set of four of the bracketsare erected to receive the container corners. First, the beam 22 of eachof the brackets 20 is raised about the pivots 26 to the erect positionshown in FIG. 3. Thereafter the beam 23 is rotated about the pivot pinsso that the opening seats over the projection 29 on the transverse beam22 and the latch 31 is turned to the locked position within the notch 33with the lip or hook portion 36 engaging the inner face of thelongitudinal beam 23. With each of the corner support brackets 20 in theoperative position the container C is then placed into position forsupport there- Generally, the container is lowered by way of a suitablecrane lift into a position on the support brackets 20 and the lengthwiseextending channels 19. As the container C approaches the supportbrackets 20, the bottom corners of the container strike the indexingsurfaces and 41 on the beam members 23 and 22 respectively so that thecontainer is guided unto the planar surfaces 37 and 35 for supportthereon. Note that the container C is thus operative to main the latchengaged within the notch 33 and thereby maintain the beams 22 and 23 inthe erect position.

As the bottom corner edges along the sides and ends of the container Cstrike the respective indexing or inthereover.

clined surfaces 40 and 41, the bottom container edges also engage thediagonal face 47 of the latch 45 so that the latter is urged outboardagainst the force of the spring 55 acting on the handle 50. When thecontainer bottom engages the planar surfaces 37 and 35, latch 45 alignswith the opening 52 and the spring 53 acting on the top of the handle 50is operative to urge the latch 45 and the nose 46 therein. In thismanner the latching devices 45 on each of the corner brackets 20 areoperative to lock the container C on the railway flatcar.

Removal of the container is achieved by retracting the. handles 50outboard of the side sills 15 so that the latch 45 is retracted out ofthe openings 47 and thereby permitting, the container C to be elevatedout of engagement with the corner brackets 20. During this period thestruts 56 may be seated within the notch 58 to maintain the latch 45clear of the container sides.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9 there is shown one manner of recessingthe plate brackets 22 and 23 of the bracket structure of FIGS. 4 through7 into the floor structure. As discussed hereinbefore, it is desirablethat. the deck 16 be retained as free of obstructions as possible topermit the rapid transport of tractors and semi-trailers Heretofore, thecorner brackets or mounting brackets were cumbersome so that it wasvirtually impossible to recess the decks to accommodate the same.However, with the present invention whereinthe beams 22 and 23 of thesupport brackets 20 are relatively foldable to eachother, the recessingwithin the deck 16 is made feasible.

As shown, this may be accomplished by the provision of ramp blocks 59a,59b, and 590. The ramp blocks 59a,

5%, and 590 are tapered so as to provide a gradual incline from level ofthe floor 16 to the maximum height at which the beams 22 and 23 projectabove the level of the floor 16. The block 59a is'contouredtoaccommodate the bearing block or trunnion 24 and is arranged to beadjacent the bottom edge of the transverse beam 22. The incline block 5%is cut out along one edge to conform to the contour of the handle sideor top side of the beam 22. The incline block 59c is formed to rise to aridge 42 and thereafter again taper downwardly toward the floor 16. Theincline block 590 may be also contoured to lie flush at either end withthe longitudinal inboard edges of the blocks 59a and 59b and toaccommodate the beam 23 therebetween.

Referring now to the container support bracket 21 shown in FIGS. 10 to13, these container brackets 21 are utilized to concurrently support thetwo adjacent ends of the smaller size containers, while the containersupport brackets 20 are used at the remote ends of the containers. Inthis connection, it should be mentioned that when the small sizecontainers, for example, the ten and five foot standard containers, areemployed, the spacing on the car between the two is generally of lessermagnitude than that of the larger thirty or forty foot containers asshown in particular in FIG. 1. When the containers are positioned incloser proximity to each other, it is possible to utilize thearrangement of the container brackets 21. It is to be noted, that thecontainer bracket 21 of the present invention when not in use may befolded to the inoperative position substantially flush with the floor 16so as to lie beneath the larger size container supported solely on thecorner bracket arrangement 20 as shown in FIG. 1.

For the purpose of description of the container brackets 21, thoseelements which are the identical to those employed in the embodiments ofFIGS. 1 to 9 are identified index projection 62 located substantiallymidway between the ends thereof and which is more or less triangular atits upper end so as to provide a pair of oppositely inclined guidingsurfaces 6363. The inclined surfaces 63-63 merge at the lower end withrespective upstanding walls 64-64 against which the end walls of thecontainers C are adapted to abut. Extending from the vertical Walls 62are horizontal planar surfaces 6565 providing support for the bottom ofthe containers C. The horizontal planar surfaces 65 are each providedwith a notch 65a which is located so as to receive the shank 34 of thelatch 31 therein, whereby the upper surface 37 of the latch 31 thereof,lies substantially flush orc o-planar with the horizontal surfaces6565. The lips 36 of each of the latches 31 pivotally supported on thetransverse beam 22 as in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 7 lie outwardly ofand engage the inboard surface of the beam member 61 so as to hold thelatter erect. The rectangular projection 29 extending from the member 22engages within the respective complementary Openings 66 in thetransverse beam 61. Thus the two transverse beam members 22 and thelongitudinal beam member 61 mutually coact to hold each other in theerect position similarly to the previously described embodiment. Thetransverse beam members 22 each include the container locking latch 45which is normally urged into engagement with the opening 47 along theside of the container by way of the leaf spring 53 engaging the handle50 to which the inner end of latch 45 is fixed.

To mount the shorter containers C on the right end of the railway car 10shown, four of the corner support brackets are erected, as are also thetwo dual corner support brackets 21 intermediate the corner supportbrackets 20. The corner support brackets 20 are erect as described inconnection with the embodiment of FIGS. 1-7.

The dual corner support brackets 21 are erected by initially turning thetransverse beams 22 to an upright positon. Thereafter, the longitudinalbeam 61 is turned or pivoted to its upright position whereupon theopenings 66 on either side of the upstanding projection 62 receive therespective rectangular projections 29 on the inboard side of thetransverse beams 22. The beam members 61 and 2222 are held locked byengagement of the latch 31 within the notches 65a.

The shorter conta'mers C are each lowered between respective sets of twocorner support brackets 20 and two dual corner support brackets 21.During lowering the inclined surfaces 63 on the beams 61, the inclinedsurfaces 40 and 41 on the longitudinal beams 23 and the transverse beams22 serve to guide the corners of the containers C into seatingengagement within the respective support brackets 20 and 21 with theends and side walls in engagement with upright surfaces 38, 39, and 64and horizontal planar surfaces 35, 37 and 65. In this manner the smallerlength containers C are indexed longitudinally and transversely of thecar 10.

The containers C are each locked on the support brackets 20 and 21 bymeans of the latch bar 45 which engages within the standard opening 47along the side of the container C as described in connection with FIGS.1-7.

In the foregoing embodiments of container support brackets 29 and 21 itis to be noted that the side and end Wall surfaces adjacent the cornersof the containers are employed to index the latter longitudinally andtransversely on the flat car. Under some circumstances the container Cmay be of the type which is provided with openings located along thebottom surface of the container adjacent each of the corners thereof.These openings are used for the purpose of either indexing or attachingthe container to some suitable support structure. FIGURES 14 through 19illustrate an embodiment of container mounting bracket 67 particularlyadapted for use with containers of the type having indexing or openingsU on the bottom adjacent the corners thereof.

Referring first to the mounting bracket structure 67 disclosed in FIGS.14 through 17 and which are adapted to be employed with the largerlength containers C similar to the corner brackets 20, the brackets 67each comprise essentially a foldable member 68 extending longitudinallyof the car and a folding member 69 extending transversely of the car.

The longitudinal beam 68 is pivotal about pivot pins 7ii70 carried bypivot blocks 71-71 located adjacent the ends of the beam 68. As shown,the blocks are of substantially U-shaped contour having a cut-out 72accommodating the ends 73 of the pivot beam 68. The longitudinal beam 68is also pivotal at its center portion about a pivot pin 74 carried by apivot block 75 fixed to the floor of the railway car. The center portionof the beam 68 is formed with a cut-out 76 so as to straddle the pivotblock 75.

As shown, the upper end of the longitudinal beam 68 is formed with atriangular portion 76 merging at the base with a substantiallyrectangular section 77 which is engageable with the outer circumferenceof the opening U on the underside of the container C. The rectangularsection 77 is formed with vertical sides 7878, from the bottom ends eachof which there projects horizontal ledges 79-79 upon which the bottom ofthe trailer or container is adapted to rest as shown in FIGS. 15 through17. It is to be observed that therectangular section 77 and upwardlyextending triangular portion 76 lie substantially along the diameter ofthe. index opening U.

The transverse beam 69 is formed of substantially right triangularcontour and includes at one corner thereof a downward projection 80which is received between a cut-out 81 of a pivot block 82 to which itis pivotally secured by means of a pivot pin 83. At the right angularcorner the transverse beam 69 is pivotally connected to the block bymeans of a pin 83a. In this manner the beam 69 is foldable from aposition adjacent the floor to an erect position as shown respectivelyin FIG. 14 and FIG. 15. In the erect operative position a latch member84, pivotally secured to the beam 69- by means of a pin 84:; andextending through an opening 85 is inserted through an opening 86 in therectangular section 77 of the beam 68 so that a lip 37 engages theoutboard face of the former. In this position the latch 34 rests withina groove found in a horizontal surface or ledge 79a and the transversebeam 69 and the longitudinal beam 68 mutually support each other in anerect position.

The member 69 is formed at its upper end with a substantially righttriangular section 88 having a slope complementary to the triangularportion 76 on the beam 68. The right triangular section 88 merges with arectangular section 89 which is substantially one-half the length of therectangular section 77 of the beam member 68. Thus, a vertical surface90 on the rectangular section 89 and the vertical surfaces 78 on therectangular section 77 of the beam 68 lie on a common circumference. Thetriangular portions 76 and 88 and the rectangular sections 77 and 89form in the nature of an index cone 91 which is adapted to be receivedwith in the opening U in the container C to hold the latter fixedagainst lateral or longitudinal movement on the railway car 11}.Moreover, when the container C is thus seated on the cone 91 thecontainer bottom rests on the horizontal ledges 79-79, 79a and the uppersurface of the latch 84.

For retaining the container C locked on the beams 68 and 69 there isprovided a pivotal latch 92 which is pivotally secured by means of a pin94 for movement along one side of the longitudinal beam 68 from aninoperative position as shown in phantom lines on FIG. 7 to an operativeposition in which a hook or lip 93 formed on the upper end of the latchis inserted within the opening 47 along the side of the container C. Asshown, the latch 92 is formed with a fiat surface 96 which in the lockedoperative position is substantially vertical. En-

gageable with the fiat surface 96 is a locking block 97 which ispivotally mounted on one end by means of a pivot pin 98 to a pivotbracket 99 projecting upwardly from the diagonal of the transverse beam69. The locking block 97 is movable in a plane transverse to the turningmovement of the latch 92 and when the inner surface of the blockoverlies and engages the fiat surface 96, the latch 92 is restrainedagainst turning so that the lip 93 is engaged in the opening 47-.

Referring now to FIGS. 18 and 19, there is shown a further form ofintermediate container support bracket 100 for use with containershaving bottom openings adjacent the corners thereof. The modifiedintermediate container support bracket 100 is similar to that shown inFIGS. 14-17 but is arranged to concurrently support the adjacent ends oftwo smaller length containers C. In the following description, thoseelements of the intermediate support brackets 100 which are identical tothe elements of support brackets 67 will be designated by the likereference character.

As shown, the intermediate support bracket 67 includes a longitudinalbeam 101 which is adapted to be folded between a position on the floor16 and an erect position, and a pair of lengthwise spaced transversebeams 69. The transverse beams 69 are substantially identical to thosedisclosed in the embodiment of FIGS. 14-17 and are mounted for pivotingmovement on pivot pins 83a and 83. The transverse beams 69 each includesat the apex thereof a right triangular section 88 from the lowerdiagonal corner of which there extends the vertical surface 90 of therectangular section 89. Projecting from the vertical surface 90 is thehorizontal surface 79a in which the latch 84 is seated within a grooveso that the upper surface thereof lies substantially coplanar. The latch84 is pivotally attached to the beam 69 by means of a pivot pin 84a.

The beam 101 includes a pair of lengthwise spaced upwardly extendingtriangular portions 7676 and rectangular sections 77 which coact witheach of the right triangular portions 88 and rectangular portions 89 andthereby to form two lengthwise spaced conical members 91 which areadapted to be received within the respective conical recesses V in theadjacent containers C-C, as shown. The longitudinal beam 101 is turnablysupported by means of pivot pins 102-102 mounted in spaced trunnions102a located adjacent the ends thereof and pivot pins 103103 carried inends of a block 104 which is disposed between depending trunnions105-105 on the underside of the beam 101.

For retaining the adjacent ends of containers C--C on the containersupport or mounting brackets 100 there is provided a pair of pivotallatches 106106 which are mounted on the inboard side of the longitudinalbeam 101. As shown, the pivotal latches 106106 are turnable in the planeof the inner wall of the beam 101 about pivots 107107 so that the lips108 are engageable within openings V adjacent to corners of thecontainer C. In this manner the adjacent ends of the containers C -C areretained locked on the container mounting brackets 100.

To prevent the lips 108 from becoming disengaged there is provided alocking block 109 which is pivotally connected at one end by means of apivot pin 110 to an upstanding flange 111'. The locking block 109 ismovable in a plane transvers to the plane of movement of the pivotallatches 106106 from an upright position to a position between thepivotal latches. In this position the opposite side surfaces of thelocking block engage the adjacent edges of the pivot latches 106106 andprevent turning movement thereof about the pivots 107107 so that thelips remain engaged within the openings 109.

To release the adjacent ends of the containers C from the supportbrackets 100 the locking block 109 is turned out of engagement betweenthe latches 106-106 so that the latter are free to turn about therespective pivots 107 ets 67, the operation of which has been heretoforedescribed.

What is claimed is:

1. A container mounting bracket for demou'ntably mounting containers ona railway car having a floor, said container mounting bracket comprisinga first flat beam member extending transversely of said car, meansmounting said first flat beam member on the car fioor for turningmovement from a horizontal rest position on the car floor to an erectposition substantially normal to the floor, a second flat beam memberextending longitudinally of said car, means turnably mounting saidsecond flat beam member on the car floor for turning movement betweenhorizontal rest position on the car floor and an erect positionsubstantially normal to the car floor, means on said first and secondflat beam'members being interengageable and coacting to provide mutualsupport for each other in the erect position thereof, abutment surfacemeans on said first fiat beam members adapted to engage a side wall ofsaid container to resist horizontal load forces on said containerapplied laterally of said railway car, and abutment surface means. onsaid second fiat beam member adapted to engage an end wall of saidcontainer resisting horizontal forces applied on said containerlongitudinally of said car.

2. A container mounting bracket for a railway car having a floor andadapted to support the adjacent ends of two end-to-end containersthereon, said container mounting bracket comprising a first flat beammeans extending transversely of said car, means mounting said first flatbeam means on the car floor for turning movement from a horizontal restposition on the car floor to an erect position substantially normal tothe floor, a second fiat beam member extending longitudinally of saidcar, means turnably mounting said second fiat beam member on the carfloor for turning movement between a horizontal rest position on the carfloor and an erect position substantially normal to the car floor, saidfirst flat beam means and said second flat beam member includinginterengageable and coacting means to provide mutual support for saidfirst beam means and said second beam member in the erect positionthereof, abutment surface means on said first fiat beam means to resisthorizontal load forces applied on the said two containers laterally ofsaid railway car, and lengthwise spaced abutment surface means on saidsecond flat beam member resisting horizontal forces applied on saidcontainers longitudinally of said railway car.

3. The invention as defined in claim 2 wherein said first flat beammeans comprises lengthwise spaced fiat beam members, said flat beammembers each including vertical abutment surface means adapted to engagethe respective sides of each of said end-to-end containers, and saidlengthwise spaced abutment surface means on said second flat beam memberare vertically disposed to engage the respective ends of said end-to-endcontainers.

4. A container mounting bracket for a railway car having a floor andadapted to support a container having a substantially circular indexopening, said mounting bracket 'comprisinga first flat beam memberextending transversely of said car, means mounting said first fiat beammember on the car floor for turning movement from a horizontal restposition on the car fioor to an erect position substantially normal tothe floor, a second fiat beam member extending longitudinally of saidcar, means turnably mounting said second flat beam member on the carfloor for turning movement between a horizontal rest position on the carfloor and an erect position substantially normal to the car floor, saidfirst and second flat beam members including means interengageable andcoacting to provide mutual support for each other in the erect positionthereof, afirst upwardly extending surface means on said first fiat beammember adapted to radially enter said index opening and having abutmentmeans engageable Within the index opening to resist horizontal loadforces applied laterally of said railway car, and second upwardlyextending surface means on said second fiat beam member adapted toradially enter said index opening and arranged at a substantially rightangle to said first upwardly extending surface means on said first flatbeam member and having abutment means engageable within the indexopening to resist horizontal forces applied longitudinally of said car.

5. The invention as defined in claim 4 wherein a said first and secondupwardly extending surface means are formed to provide a substantiallysemi-conical indexing head when said first and second beam members arein the upright positions thereof.

6. A container mounting arrangement for supporting a plurality ofcontainers in end-to-end relationship on a railway car com-prising dualcontainer mounting brackets adapted to accommodate and support theadjacent ends of two end-to-end disposed containers thereon along thecorners thereof and container mounting brackets adapted to accommodateand support the remote ends of said two containers adjacent the cornersthereof, said dual container mounting brackets each comprising a pair oflengthwise first fiat beam members extending transversely of the car andhaving an abutment surface means adapted to engage the side walls ofeach of said two containers, a second flat beam member extendinglongitudinally of said car and having abutment surface means adapted toengage the end wall of said container, means mounting each of said firstand second fiat beam members on the car floor for turning movementbetween a horizontal rest position on the floor and an erect positionsubstantially normal to the floor, and coacting means on said first andsecond flat beam members to maintain said first and second beam membersin said erect position whereby each of said container support bracketsat the respective corners of said containers are operative to resistlongitudinal and lateral movement of said two containers concurrentlysupported thereon, and said container support brackets supporting saidremote end corners of said end-to-end containers comprise a first fiatbeam member and a second flat beam member arranged at substantiallyright angles to each other, means mounting each of said first and secondfiat beam members on the car fioor for turning movement between ahorizontal rest position on the car floor to an erect positionsubstantially normal to the car floor, coacting and interengaging meanson said first and second beam members to provide mutual support for saidfirst and second beam members in the erect position thereof, said firstand second fiat beam members each having vertical abutment surface meansengaging the end and side walls of the respective remote ends of saidcontainers to resist longitudinal and radial movement of saidcontainers.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,408,413 2/1922Smith l05366 2,273,854 2/1942 Fitch 105-366 2,956,835 10/1960 Rogers eta1 296-35 3,125,035 3/1964 Loomis 105-366 3,159,111 12/1964 Gutridge etal 105366 3,160,117 12/1964 Willison et al 105366 ARTHUR L. LA POINT,Primary Examiner.

DRAYTON E. HOFFMAN, Examiners.

1. A CONTAINER MOUNTING BRACKET FOR DEMOUNTABLY MOUNTING CONTAINERS ON ARAILWAY CAR HAVING A FLOOR, SAID CONTAINER MOUNTING BRACKET COMPRISING AFIRST FLAT BEAM MEMBER EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID CAR, MEANSMOUNTING SAID FIRST FLAT BEAM MEMBER ON THE CAR FLOOR FOR TURNINGMOVEMENT FROM A HORIZONTAL REST POSITION ON THE CAR FLOOR TO AN ERECTPOSITION SUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO THE FLOOR, A SECOND FLAT BEAM MEMBEREXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF SAID CAR, MEANS TURNABLY MOUNTING SAIDSECOND FLAT BEAM MEMBER ON THE CAR FLOOR FOR TURNING MOVEMENT BETWEENHORIZONTAL REST POSITION ON THE CAR FLOOR AND AN ERECT POSITIONSUBSTANTIALLY NORMAL TO THE CAR FLOOR, MEANS ON SAID FIRST AND SECONDFLAT BEAM MEMBERS BEING INTERENGAGEABLE AND COACTING TO PROVIDE MUTUALSUPPORT FOR EACH OTHER IN THE ERECT POSITION THEREOF, ABUTMENT SURFACEMEANS ON SAID FIRST FLAT BEAM MEMBERS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE A SIDE WALL OFSAID CONTAINER TO RESIST HORIZONTAL LOAD FORCES ON SAID CONTAINERAPPLIED LATERALLY OF SAID RAILWAY CAR, AND ABUTMENT SURFACE MEANS ONSAID SECOND FLAT BEAM MEMBER ADAPTED TO ENGAGE AN END WALL OF SAIDCONTAINER RESISTING HORIZONTAL FORCES APPLIED ON SAID CONTAINERLONGITUDINALLY OF SAID CAR.